سرى كما يسري القمر — Alarjani

سَرى كما يَسري القَمَرْ

والليّلُ مُسوَدُّ الطُّرَرْ

He traveled by night as the moon travels,

while the night's fringes were black.

زَوْرٌ سرَى على خَفَر

طوَى الفلا وما شعَر

A visitor came by night in modest reserve;

he crossed the desert without noticing.

بدْرٌ دُجاهُ مِن شَعَر

عَجِبتُ والليّلُ اعتكَر

A full moon whose darkness was hair.

I marveled, as night grew dense,

مَعْ نورهِ كيف استَتر

أَوجُهُه حينَ سفَر

how, with his light, he stayed hidden.

Did his face, when it unveiled itself,

بسِحْرِ طَرْفٍ ذي حَوَر

لأعينِ النّاسِ سَحَر

through the magic of a dark-eyed glance,

bewitch the eyes of men?

فجاء كالبَدْرِ ومَر

ولم يَرَوا منه أثَر

He came like the full moon and passed,

and they saw no trace of him.

أما أنا لمّا حضَر

كأنّه إحدَى الصُّور

As for me, when he appeared,

as though he were one of the images,

خَبأْتُه من الحَذَر

في ناظري عنِ البَشَر

I hid him out of caution

in my eye, away from mankind.

يا زائراً لم يُستَزَر

أحلَلْتُهُ منّي البَصَر

O visitor who was never invited,

I lodged him in my eye,

فَعَوَّضَ العينَ السّهَر

لمّا رأَى أُنْسي نَفَر

and he repaid my eye with sleeplessness.

When he saw my intimacy, he fled;

ولم يَصِلْ حتّى هَجَر

وزوَّد الصّبَّ الذِّكَر

he had not even offered union before he forsook me,

and provisioned the lovelorn with memories.

فقُمتُ والدّمعُ درَر

أَكُفُّ منه ما بَدَر

Then I rose, my tears pearls,

checking those that spilled,

وأكتُمُ الصَّحبَ الخَبَر

ونحن أبناءُ سَفَر

and hiding the news from my companions,

while we were sons of travel,

من وطَنٍ إلى وَطَر

إلى بَعيرٍ قد ضَمُر

from a homeland toward a desire,

to a camel that had grown lean.

رَعى بأعْلى ذي نَفر

بينَ رياضٍ وزَهَر

It grazed on the heights of Dhu Nafar,

among gardens and flowers,

كأنّها نَشْرُ الحِبَر

يأخُذُ نَبْتاً ويَذَر

as though they were spread-out brocades,

taking some herbage and leaving some,

في أُنُفٍ منَ الخُضَر

ونُطَفٍ فيها خَصَر

amid fresh, ungrazed greenery

and pools of water touched with chill,

حتّى أتَى مِلْءَ الضُّفُر

يُلاعِبُ الظِّلَّ أَشر

until it came filling out its braided girths,

sporting with its shadow in high spirits.

فمَرّ كالسَّيلِ انحدَر

يَقسِمُ عينَيْه حَذَر

Then it sped like a torrent pouring downhill,

cautiously dividing its two eyes

بينَ الطّريقِ المُبتَدَر

ووَقْعِ مَفْتولِ المرَر

between the road it rushed along

and the fall of tightly twisted thongs

بعِطْفِه عنه زَوَر

حتّى إذا الحادي نَعَر

on its flank, as it swerved away from them.

Then, when the camel-driver cried out,

طوَى بلاداً ونَشَر

إلى ذُرا مَلْكٍ أَغَر

it folded up lands and unfolded them,

toward the heights of a radiant king,

إليه للخَلْقِ المَفَر

تَجْري يَداهُ بالبِدَر

to whom mankind flees for refuge.

His hands pour forth purses of coin,

جَرْيَ القضاء والقَدَر

وزيرُ صِدْقٍ مُذ وَزَر

as decree and destiny run their course.

An upright vizier, since he took office,

أصبحَ للمُلْكِ وَزَر

نَهَى مُطاعاً وأَمَر

he has become the kingdom's refuge.

He forbade and commanded, and was obeyed;

وساء مَن شاء وسَر

ونَفع النّاسَ وضَر

he grieved whom he wished, and gladdened,

and brought people benefit and harm.

ذو سيرةٍ من السِّيَر

تُتلَى كما تُتلى السُّورَ

A man whose life-story, among life-stories,

is recited as the surahs are recited.

إن وتَر الدّهرُ ثأر

أو نُسِيَ العَهدُ ذَكَر

If time inflicts a loss, he takes revenge;

if a covenant is forgotten, he remembers;

أو عَظُمَ الذَّنْبُ غَفَر

أو جَمَد النّوْءُ مَطَر

if the sin grows great, he forgives;

if the rain-star withholds, he rains;

أو خفَّتِ الخَيلُ وقَر

مهما رأى الشّرَّ فَغَر

if the cavalry grows flighty, he stays composed.

Whenever he sees evil gape,

قام كريماً وصَبَر

وقال أمْرٌ قد قُدِر

he rises nobly and perseveres,

and says: a matter already decreed.

وأرسَلَ الخَيلَ زُمَر

عَوابِساً معَ الغُرَر

He sends forth the cavalry in troops,

scowling, with white forehead-blazes,

نوافِضاً فيها العُذَر

تَصلَى إذا النّبْعُ انْأطَر

with their mane-locks shaking.

They face, when the bow-wood bends,

ناراً لها النَّبْلُ شَرَر

حتّى ثنَى البِيضَ كِسَر

a fire whose sparks are arrows,

until he turns bright swords to fragments,

وقَصَّرَ الضَّرْبُ قَصَر

بخَطْفِها المُلْكُ اسَتقَر

and the striking cuts necks short.

Through their swift strokes the kingdom stood firm;

ورُبَّ نَفْعٍ في ضَرَر

يا مالكاً قدِ اقتَدَر

many a benefit lies in harm.

O ruler who has gained power,

إليك منك الدَّهرُ فَرّ

فكُنْ مُقيلاً إن عَثَر

time fled from you to you.

Be forgiving, should it stumble—

دهْرٌ جنَى ثُمَّ اعتَذَر

مُحَكَّماً فيما شَجَر

a time that wronged you, then apologized—

an arbiter over whatever is disputed,

وماكِراً بمَنْ مكَر

لم يَبْقَ والبَغيُ غَرَر

and a counterplotter against whoever plots.

No one was left—oppression is perilous—

باغٍ على البَغْيِ أصَر

أعلَن ذاكَ أو أسَر

who persisted in oppression,

proclaiming it or keeping it secret,

إلاّ له اللهُ كَسَر

ولم يُغادِرْ مَن غَدَر

whom God did not break;

nor did He leave any betrayer.

وفي الزّمانِ مُعتَبَر

إن كان فينا مُصطَبَر

In time there is a lesson,

if we have any endurance.

فاصنَعْ صنيعَ مَن شكَر

مَن كفَر النُّعمَى كفَر

So act as one who gives thanks:

whoever denies a blessing is ungrateful.

حاشا بَقاكَ المُختَبَر

يا بدْرَ مُلْكٍ لا استَسَر

Far be that from your tried-and-proven life!

O full moon of kingship, may you never hide,

ونجمَ عَدْلٍ لا انكَدَر

محا منَ الجَوْرِ الأَثَر

and star of justice, may you never dim.

The trace of tyranny was erased

تَصحيفُها مِمّا استَمر

وكان فيها مُفتَخَر

by its altered spelling, from what had endured;

and therein lay a source of pride

على المَمالِكِ الأُخَر

فَصفّها منَ الكَدَر

over the other kingdoms.

So cleanse it of murk,

وعُمَّ هاتيكَ الكُوَر

عَدْلاً إذا عَمَّ عَمَر

and encompass those districts

with justice that, when it spreads, makes them prosper.

كم قائلٍ وما افتَكر

رَبُّ العبادِ ما فَطَر

Many a speaker, without reflecting, says:

the Lord of mankind created no

في طَبْعِ نَوشَروانَ شَر

ولو مِنَ اسْمِهِ قَدَر

evil in Nushirwan's nature;

and, could he, from his name

الشِّينَ والرّاءَ ستَر

عنِ الورَى إذا سطَر

he would hide the letters shin and ra

from mankind whenever he wrote it.

قلتُ بِذا لا يُغْتَرَر

فهْو بعيد المُسْتَمَر

I said: let no one be deceived by this;

for his course reaches far:

مُحْلٍ إذا شاءَ أَمَر

كالطّودِ ما لم يُستَثَر

he sweetens, and when he wishes makes bitter,

like a mountain until he is stirred,

واللّيثِ ما شاء خَدَر

غامدَ نابٍ وظُفُر

and a lion that stays in its lair as long as it wishes,

with fang and claw sheathed.

ثمّ إذا عادَى جَهَر

ولا يماشِيكَ الخَمَر

Then, when he becomes hostile, he acts openly;

and concealment does not keep you company.

فلا قَرارٌ إن زَأَر

ولا بقاءٌ إن هَصَر

There is no staying if he roars,

and no survival if he mauls.

يا مُخجِلَ العَضْبِ الذَّكَر

من صَدْرِه رَأيٌ صَدَر

O you who put the keen, hard-tempered blade to shame,

from whose breast counsel issued,

أطمعْتَ في الدَّهْرِ الظَّفَر

فلا تَعلّلْ بالعِذَر

you made victory covet time itself.

So do not plead excuses,

ولا تَبِتْ على وَغَر

فلو وخَزْتَ بالإبَر

nor pass the night nursing rancor.

For if you pricked with needles,

صارتْ رماحاً في الثُّغَر

يا حادِيَ العِيسِ أَثِر

they would become spears at the frontiers.

O driver of pale camels, rouse them!

أَسْرِ على السّعْدِ وسِر

إن مَسّك الدَّهْرُ بِضُر

Travel by night with good fortune, and journey on.

If time touches you with harm,

فكَعبةَ الآمالِ زُر

فهْو مَطافُ كلِّ حُر

visit the Kaaba of hopes;

for he is the circling-place of every free man.

فاحجُجْ ذُراهُ واعتَمِر

بشَرفِ الدّينِ استَجِر

Make pilgrimage to his heights, and a lesser pilgrimage.

Seek refuge in Sharaf al-Din

من حادثِ الدَّهْرِ يُجِر

مَولىً على النَّجمِ أَبَر

from time's calamity; he will shelter you.

A lord who rises above the star,

بفَضْلِه كلٌّ أَقَر

من آلِ كسْرَى في نَفَر

whose excellence everyone acknowledges,

from the house of Kisra, among a company,

مثْلَ النّبِيِّ في مُضَر

نَمَوْهُ من أَزْكَى شَجَر

like the Prophet among Mudar.

They traced his lineage to the purest tree,

فطابَ فَرْعاً وطَهُر

آثارُه لِمَنْ أَثَر

so he grew fair and pure as a branch.

His deeds, to whoever recounts them,

كأنّها المِسْكُ ذَفَر

فَداهُ إنْ دَهْرٌ كَشَر

are like musk diffusing fragrance.

May his ransom, if time bares

عن نابِ خَطْبٍ قد فَطَر

نِكْسٌ له القَلْبُ انفَطَر

a calamity's fang that has broken through,

be a weakling whose heart has split

مِن نُورِه الّذي بَهَر

وهل يُباري إنْ فَخَر

at his light, which dazzled.

And can it rival, if it boasts,

شمسَ الضُّحَى نجْمُ السّحر

سيفُ أَبي نَصْرٍ نَصَر

the midmorning sun—this predawn star?

Abu Nasr's sword aided

دينَ الهدى حتّى انتصَر

وللعدا طُرّاً قَهَر

the religion of guidance until it triumphed,

and subdued the enemies, one and all:

سيفٌ له اللهُ شَهَر

دَمُ العدا به هَدَر

a sword God unsheathed for him,

through which the enemies' blood went unavenged.

فاسلَمْ لنا من الغِير

في ظِلِّ عيشٍ لا انْحَسر

Remain safe for us from adverse changes,

in the shade of a life that never recedes,

بَعيدِ وِردٍ مِنْ صَدَر

مَصونِ صَفْوٍ من كَدَر

with arrival at its waters far from departure,

its clarity protected from turbidity.

يا مَن به العَدْلُ انتشَر

ومَن له الفَضْلُ اشْتَهَر

O you through whom justice spread,

and whose excellence became renowned,

مادِحُه إذا نظَر

يُفرغُ في غَمْرٍ غُمَر

his praiser, when he considers,

pours a small cup into a deep sea.

وعندَه الحظُّ وفَر

من كلِّ عِلمٍ يُستَطَر

His share is abundant

in every science set in writing.

نادى إليه وحشَر

آدِبُ فَضْلٍ ما انتقَر

He summoned people to it and gathered them,

a host of bounty who chose no favorites.

عش ما بدا بَدْرٌ زهَر

وما به الليّلُ اعتَجَر

Live as long as a full moon appears shining,

and night wraps itself in it,

من غَيْثِ جُودٍ انهمَر

ولَيثِ بأسٍ استَعر

as a rain of generosity pouring down,

and a lion of valor blazing fierce,

مُعطِي عطاءٍ قد غَمَر

أَصبح أَدناهُ البِدَر

a giver of gifts that have overflowed,

the least of which are purses of coin,

مُبِرُّ رِفْدِ مَن شَعَر

وغاص فيه بالفِكَر

lavishly rewarding whoever makes verse

and dives into it with thought.

ثُمَّ سخا وما اقتَصَر

في كُلِّ بَدْوٍ وحَضَر

Then he gave freely, without stint,

in every desert and settlement.

فكان كالبَحْرِ زَخَر

فَعَمَّ كُلاً بالمَطَر

He was like the surging sea:

he covered everyone with rain,

وخَصَّ قوماً بالدُّرَر

ياجُودُ قَولاً مُعتَبَر

and singled out some with pearls.

O Generosity—in words well considered,

حقيقةً لم تُسَتعر

مِثْلُك ما كان ظَهَر

a truth, not a borrowed metaphor—

your like has never appeared:

الجودُ في شَخْصِ بَشَر

يَمْلأُ عَيْنَيْ مَن نَظَر

generosity in a human form,

filling the eyes of whoever looks.

واللّهُ مُبِدعُ الفِطَر

يا مُغْنِياً مَنِ افتقَر

God is the creator of natures.

O enricher of whoever is poor,

وجابِراً مَنِ انكَسَر

عَصْرُك نِعمَ المُعْتَصَر

and mender of whoever is broken,

your age is the finest refuge.

لَديك آمالي أُخَر

ولي معاشٌ مُحتَقَر

I have further hopes in you,

and a meager livelihood:

لو كان دَمْعاً ما قَطَر

فَضُمَّ من أَمري النّشَر

if it were tears, it would not drip.

Gather what is scattered in my affairs,

وازْجُرْ زماناً بي أَضَر

فلو زجرتَ لا نْزجَر

and rebuke a time that harmed me;

for if you rebuked it, it would surely desist.

هل بعدَ هذا منتظَر

أم آن أن يُجنَى ثَمَر

After this, is there anything to await?

Or is it time to reap fruit

من غَرْسِ وُدٍّ مُدَّخَر

هذا المَسيرُ يُبتَدَر

from a planting of treasured affection?

This departure is being hastened;

فهل لنا من مُدَّكَر

كُلٌّ بأُهْبَةِ السَّفَر

will anyone remember us?

Everyone, equipped for travel,

أضحَى كَفُوقٍ في وَتَر

وليس لي من مُقْتَدَر

has become like an arrow-nock on a bowstring.

I have no means

لمَرْجِعٍ ولا مَمَر

فخاطِري على خَطَر

for returning or traveling onward.

My mind is in peril

من خَوفِ ما فيه خَطَر

بالحِجْرِ منّي والحَجَر

from fear of what has crossed it.

By the reason in me and the Stone—

يَمينُ بِرٍّ ما فَجَر

لو مُلِّكَتْ نَفْسي الخِيَر

an honest oath that has never lied—

if my soul were granted the choice,

كان ذُراكَ لي مَقَر

وكان للعَينِ أَقَر

your heights would be my resting place,

and would bring greater comfort to my eye.

فكن أحَقَّ مَن عَذَر

عبداً لعَهْدٍ ما خَفَر

Be the worthiest to pardon

a servant who never betrayed a covenant,

سوى هواكَ ما ذَخَر

وغيرَ عَوْدٍ ما نَذَر

who treasured nothing but love for you,

and vowed nothing but a return.

فمُرْ بأمْرٍ يُؤتَمَر

أَعِدْ إلى أَمْرِي نَظَر

Command a command that will be obeyed;

look again upon my affairs.

وهاكَ من قَولي فِقَر

كأنّها الدُّرُّ انتثَر

Take these passages from my words,

as though they were scattered pearls,

من كُلِّ معنىً مُبتكَر

في كلِّ بَيتٍ مُختَصَر

of every newly devised meaning,

in every concise verse,

كأنّه على القَدَر

يومُ السُّرورِ في العُمُر

as though, in its measure, it were

a day of joy in a lifetime,

حُسْناً وطِيباً وقِصَر

كعُمْرِ سِيدِ من مُضَر

in beauty, sweetness, and brevity,

like the lifespan of a chief of Mudar.